Kuala Lumpur: A total of 554 individuals were arrested in 422 raids across the country under Op Soga XI, an operation launched to clamp down on unlicensed gambling activities during the Fifa World Cup 2026.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar said the suspects, who were believed to be involved in illegal betting and online gambling, comprised 508 men and 46 women, consisting of 341 locals and 213 foreigners.
He said the police also seized cash amounting to RM167,062.09 and detected betting credit values totalling RM3.24 million throughout the operation.
"During this operation period, 422 raids were carried out in strategic cooperation with various stakeholder agencies, particularly the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)," he said in a statement today.
According to him, said the operation also focused on monitoring gambling promotion and advertising activities conducted through websites and social media platforms.
Kumar said a total of 263 websites, platforms, applications and social media channels were found to have been used for football betting activities and gambling promotions, with MCMC assisting in blocking the websites and removing the content.
According to him, the cases were investigated under Section 6(1) of the Betting Act 1953 for betting in a common betting house or with a bookmaker; Section 6(3) of the same act against individuals acting as bookmakers; and Section 4(1)(c) for keeping, managing or assisting in managing a betting place.
"The offence of promoting or advertising gambling activities was investigated under Section 4(1)(e) of the Betting Act 1953, while the detained foreigners were also investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for being in the country without a valid pass or permit.
"Investigations were also conducted under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA)," he said.
He added that police would continue to intensify operations and enforcement actions besides strengthening strategic cooperation with stakeholder agencies, and urged members of the public to provide information to assist the authorities in eradicating such activities.
